Village of Holly declares state of emergency over flooding, wastewater capacity

The Village of Holly in Oakland County, Michigan, is under a local state of emergency due to flooding. 

Holly Village President April Brandon issued the declaration on Tuesday, saying she had been in contact with Village Manager Timothy Price, the Department of Public Works and response teams over the circumstances. 

"We have been closely monitoring conditions and working the problem from the start. While the situation has been serious, it did not meet the legal threshold for a formal declaration until now. Based on the cumulative damage, system strain, and ongoing impacts, that threshold has been reached," Brandon said. 

Village officials are also working with the Oakland County Emergency Management office on the response and recovery. 

A series of heavy rains since early April has overwhelmed the village wastewater system with peak flows spiking over 5 million gallons per day. Brandon said that level is far beyond the system's normal capacity, resulting in damage to critical infrastructure such as the failure of a primary pump and disruption to control systems. 

The repair and maintenance costs to keep up with the wastewater issues have already exceeded $20,000 and will continue to rise, she said. 

In the meantime, flooding has had significant impacts on area residents, including about 230 homes in the Hawaiian Gardens modular home community. Village officials have been working with park management since the flooding started, Brandon said. 

"These situations are not simple, but they are not being ignored," she said on April 15 about those circumstances. 

Flooding has also affected homeowners in other areas of the village, she said. 

The Holly Village Council has scheduled a special meeting for 6 p.m. Monday in the council chambers.